| “One of the documents was a letter, dated July 2000 and apparently signed by the Niger president, discussing Iraq’s agreement to purchase 500 tons of uranium oxide, and certifying that it was authorized under the Niger constitution of 1965. But U.N. officials quickly noted that Niger had promulgated a new constitution in 1999, and that the letter’s signature bore little resemblance to the actual signature of President Tandja Mamadou.
Another letter, dated in 1999, was signed by the Niger foreign minister. But the letterhead belonged to the military government that had been replaced earlier in 1999, and the signatory had left the job of foreign minister in 1989.” (W. Post March 22, 2003) |
| July 8, 2003. NY Times The White House acknowledged for the first time today that President Bush was relying on incomplete and perhaps inaccurate information from American intelligence agencies when he declared, in his State of the Union speech, that Saddam Hussein had tried to purchase uranium from Africa. |
What I didn’t find in Africa – more |
White House says uranium claim should not have been in the State of the Union Address |
Reuters reported “a senior official from the U.N. nuclear agency who saw the … evidence … described one as so badly forged his “jaw dropped.” “It doesn’t even look close to the signature of the president.” |
washingtonpost |
house.gov |
“It was the information that we had. We provided it. If that information is inaccurate, fine,” Powell said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” |
globeandmail |
globalsecurity |
Rumsfeld. “His regime … recently was discovered seeking significant quantities of uranium from Africa.” |
whitehouse.gov |
whitehouse.gov |
state.gov |
British publish report that Iraq had tried to purchase uranium for nuclear weapons in Africa. |
